Technology

Just when youthought it was safe to jump into the 700 MHz frequency with your own device along comes the Federal Communications Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) who says initial testing of the prototype devices showed they failed to swiftly track and avoid interference with other, licensed broadcasts.
The report stated the technology coalition behind the tests had hoped the use of so called white spaces - an unlicensed spectrum between TV channels -- would pass muster with regulators as early as October. The coalition effort is one of several efforts on the part of large companies offering Internet services and devices to expand options for consumer access to the Web.
The group includes companies such as Microsoft Philips, Google, Intel Corp., and Dell Inc. Members of the coalition want the ability to offer devices and services that don't have to be used on licensed networks operated by traditional telecom or cable companies.
But the OET’s test results put a damper on the group’s hopes, noting that "the sample prototype white space devices submitted to the commission for initial evaluation do not consistently sense or detect TV broadcast or wireless microphone signals."
Hopefully there will be a way to solve this dilemma. After all, the above companies represent some of the smartest technology minds in the world.

I just can’t believe that Internet Telephony Conference & Expo is five short weeks away. I just can’t wait for September 10-12th in Los Angeles. Boy is the summer going by fast. Thankfully I read Ken Kamp’s blog where he talks about the show and it reminded me about the timing of this event.
Tom Keating too reads Ken’s blog and he beat me to writing about Ken’s post.
I am very excited about the show… It is just amazing how much the communications market has evolved in a few short years.

George Ou has an excellent write-up about how insecure Web 2.0 applications are over WiFi. The problem? Unencrypted traffic which can be recorded, analyzed and used against you. He starts with a basic example of a Gmail account getting hijacked. Even worse, using this technique you can potentially have your home address and your e-mail known to others who are lurking nearby and recording your traffic.

This year has been the absolutely most tumultuous ever in terms of wireless communications and these changes can and will have a dramatic effect on your business. You can’t go anywhere these days without seeing Apple’s iPhone in action. Kids have them, Mac loyalists have them and most importantly, your coworkers have them.
The question is… How do you support them and what policies and procedures do you need in place to ensure you are ready for the onslaught of questions and interoperability issues this phone will bring to the market.
What about security? How will we deal with the potential for these devices to get lost without the ability to remotely wipe confidential corporate data?
If a single-industry changing phone wasn’t enough for telecom and IT managers to deal with, we now have Google’s G-Phone (or it could be called Google Phone… Time will tell) looming in the telecom wings just waiting to disrupt the service provider business model and potentially the way you plan and negotiate your wireless telecom contracts.
Then there is the 700 MHz spectrum with it’s potential to enable an army of devices on new wireless spectrum.

Mitel's proposal to acquire and merge with Inter-Tel has been approved by Inter-Tel stockholders. Here are the details:

US$723 million merger

Creates a market leader in SMB IP communications industry with the scale to strengthen and extend its reach in the enterprise market

Anticipated revenues of over US$800 million

Once the transaction is completed, Mitel will have approximately 3,400 employees in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia, and count an active worldwide distribution channel some 1,500 value-added resellers, distributors and systems integrators covering over 90 countries.

My take on this is the deal is good for shareholders and customers as they will get the benefit of two strong technology-focused communications companies working synergistically. This does not mean the integration will be smooth as lately we have seen a number of larger telecom acquisitions causing indigestion and poor earnings.
In this case however, the deal size is not so big and the corporate cultures are very similar so I don’t see “M&A indigestion” as a major challenge.

Let’s give a round of applause to 8x8, the parent company of Packet8 VoIP service. They have just announced a profitable quarter. For the first time since the Company launched its Packet8 VoIP service in November 2002, 8x8 posted GAAP net income of $508,000, or $0.01 per share, compared to a net loss of $2.9 million, or ($0.05) per share for the previous quarter and $1.8 million, or ($0.03) per share for the same period of fiscal 2007.
This news is important as the company had far fewer dollars to spend on marketing their service when compared to many others in the market; they still beat many others to this important milestone.
The company has focused on a methodical system of results-driven marketing and moreover recognized early that the hosted SMB space has plenty of promise.
This news is a great counterbalance to the management problems at SunRocket which caused their demise. The fact that SunRocket didn’t sell its company is somewhat mind-boggling actually.

I received the following question today regarding the Nokia N800:
I'm seriously thinking of purchasing the Nokia N800. Since it is strictly a wireless device is there really enough free public wireless to make the purchase worthwhile. I'd be using it in Central Florida (Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa)and Louisiana (New Orleans Metro)areas mostly. Also, along Interstate 10, between Jacksonville, FL and New Orleans.

Voicemail transcription otherwise known as voicemail to text has come to the world’s most popular IP communications software package, Skype. SpinVox technology will be used to convert voicemails to text in the following languages to start: English, Spanish, French and German. More from TMCnet.
I just had a lunch with James Siminoff the Founder and CEO of SimulScribe this past Monday and we got to talking about the voicemail transcription market. James is pretty low key when it comes to estimates and it seems I am more enthusiastic about the potential in this market than even he is.
What we did agree to as a baseline is that the market for these services should be as big as the smartphone space.